Hamstring soreness kept Cole Beasley from practicing during the first week of organized team activities.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett called it a good opportunity for the younger players to get some work.

No one benefited more than rookie Ryan Switzer, who took first-team reps in the slot.

One of the reasons the Dallas coaching staff liked Switzer was because of the insurance he could provide if something happened to Beasley.

But the plan isn't for Switzer to only get reps when Beasley is out. The Cowboys are working on packages for both to be on the field at the same time to take advantage of mismatches.

"He's a classic slot receiver," Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. "He has a similar game [to Beasley], but he has his own things. We would really like those two guys to be able to complement each other and run real similar route trees. Certainly a huge bonus with him is his ability to be a returner in our special teams.

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"His role is significant. You can see right now he's getting reps that we wouldn't have ... if he wasn't here. He complements Beasley and also gives us some big-time needed depth at that position."

Arguably the top highlight from Wednesday's OTA practice came when Switzer hauled in a Dak Prescott pass near the right sideline. Switzer was able to make the one-handed catch and get both feet down inbounds.

"He's another weapon," Prescott said earlier this month. "He reminds me of Beasley and the things that he can do. Playing in the slot, he had a lot of production there at North Carolina. I watched him while he was in college. So to have him on the team, looking forward to getting comfortable with him as a weapon.